Prisoner
by Paddehfeets
Summary: Loki Laufeyson has been tortured for four years. One year at the hands of Asgardian justice and three more by the Chitauri. When Thanos finally releases the broken and insane god, Loki lands in Central Park, where a Steve Rogers has been taking a walk...
1. Chapter 1

**N/A: DISCLAIMER! I, most unfortunately, do not own Marvel or any of it's characters.**

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It was slow, like every week. Slow, painful, and, well, torturous. He knew that there was no escape from his eternal torture, which was provided weekly. He never questioned it, and always came quietly. Well, at first, he would taunt the guards whom carried out his torture, but quickly learned not to. Ten lashes per week was the first month of his torture, and five more were added each month. After a year, his back ached constantly, and he had the worst type of thoughts. Many believed him to be going mad; his screams echoing throughout every night, and his muttering to himself was one of the only comforts he had left. His inky black hair hung limp and fell into his thin, yellowish face. The prison provided little light, therefore making it so that he never got the proper amount of light. His cell was damp and cold, and he was almost always to be found in the darkest corner of it, either whimpering in pain from his torture sessions, or silent, often making the guards think that he had died and gone to Valhalla. This was not the case, however, for he just would not die. How he longed to, though. The fire in his brilliant greenish blue eyes had gone out long ago, and he had given up on life. He never tried to kill himself, oh no, that would surely wipe away his pride, but he always hoped that, with each torture session, he was getting closer to the end.

This week was just as bad as all the weeks previously.

The whip struck him quickly, his back aching and feeling as though it was on fire. Tears streamed down his face as it struck him again, his blood falling from his back. The torturer's face was stony and showed no emotion whatsoever. Did the torturer not care how much pain the prisoner was in? Evidently not.

The prisoner, for the first time during a torture session, begged the torturer to stop. His pleas were shaky and hard to make out through his sobs. The torturer ignored him, and finished whipping him. He unchained the prisoner from the wall, and watched as he slumped to the ground, body racking with sobs, pain the only thing he felt. The torturer left without a second thought of the prisoner.

All the prisoner could think was, 'Why?' He had no reasonable explanation for why he should be inflicted with this magnitude of pain. Yes, he had done wrong and therefore deserved to pay for his crimes, but with this? Why this? This was… horrible. The prisoner dragged himself to his dark corner, still trembling and sobbing from his torture. He brought his knees to his chest and buried his face into his arms, which were crossed over his knees.

Suddenly, the prisoner felt warm. He wasn't quite sure why, though, and he refused to look up. Some sort of light was touching his skin, but it didn't feel like real sunlight. He cowered in his dark corner, not lifting his head at all. He heard voices, but couldn't make out what they were saying. Surely they were mocking him. Mocking his weakness. More tears fell down his face as he tried to get into the corner more, away from the voices.

"Loki."

The prisoner shook his head at the sound of his name, and rocked back and forth as he cried.

"Loki, listen to me."

The prisoner shook his head even more, sobbing harder. He hurt so badly. Why wouldn't this pain leave him? He felt a hand on his shoulder and he let out a scream, looking up at the person who touched him. There was one man standing over him, and his name was Tony Stark.

"NO!" Loki screamed, batting his hand away. "Get away from me!"

Tony flinched slightly at Loki's reaction. "Loki, I'm not going to hurt you."

More tears fell down Loki's face, making a noise that a wounded animal would make. Tony's eyes shone with concern and pity. Loki hated it. He hated the pity. He didn't want to be pitied, but yet he did. He wanted help. He wanted someone, anyone to care for him, no matter who they were.

"Listen, I'm here to take you out of here," Tony said. "Nobody else would do it."

Loki shook his head. They'd only torture him more. There was no freedom of pain for him; no way could he be given the luxury of peace. He cowered before the man he had once so fearlessly threatened.

Then a cruel laughter came from Anthony Stark's lips; a sound that had never escaped them, but yet Loki saw it. The laughter seemed to change the appearance of Tony, his Iron Man armor falling off of him, replaced with gold and black armor. The tan skin on Tony's face turned red and his chocolate eyes melted into an icy blue, full of joy at the sight of the trembling god. Tony changed to Thanos and the prison cell broke into a million little pieces, floating around in the darkness of the realm of the Chitauri. "Was this really your dreams, Laufeyson?" Thanos slapped Loki across the face, but the gag tied in the god's mouth prevented him from yelling out. "How pathetic. You really are the weakest Jotun. Is that why Daddy abandoned you? Poor, little Loki. The Front Giant runt." Thanos laughed his cruel laugh once more, the sound echoing in Loki's ears even after it had gone. He was chained to a rock, no shirt on, blood dripping off of him, staining the ground below. He had done nothing to deserve this. Nothing. The torture he went through was merely for Their pleasure and Their entertainment. Loki tried to speak through the gag, but all that he managed to get out was a tiny squeak. The Chitauri laughed, but all Thanos allowed himself was a smirk. "You will die here, Laufeyson. Mark my words."

Tears flowed down Loki's face like a river; his body shaking uncontrollably. He shook his head, wanting to scream and let out his anguish, but he couldn't. He couldn't do anything but hang there and watch Thanos as he tortured him. That's all he would ever know now, was torture. How much more could they do? Their minds were sick, but surely they would get bored of their little play-toy. It was this thought that kept Loki alive for the next year of torture. But as the anniversary of that year gave way to the third year, the thought began to lose its purpose. No matter how many times they re-did the same torture, they would love it. The seed of Insanity that had been implanted in Loki's mind throughout the First Year had started to grow and flourish inside of Loki's broken mind. In the beginning of the Third Year, it was the same as always. The torture, the jeers and insults, the mocking. But as it continued, Loki's reactions became less responsive. The Chitauri attempted in torturing him worse, and got a bit more, but it quickly vanished. They did grow bored of him, and many complained to their master, their lord Thanos about this. Thanos frowned and went to the broken god.

"You are no longer of use to the Chitauri." He unchained Loki, who fell to the ground in a trembling heap. "You will go back to the Earth, and then we will come when you are well once more." Without waiting to see the god's reaction, Thanos threw him off the realm and Loki Laufeyson was engulfed into darkness.

Sunlight burned his extremely pale skin. He willed his eyes to open, to see anything but the darkness and pain he had seen over the past Three years, but he could not. Exhaustion laid down heavily upon him and would not get off, no matter how hard he tried to shake it away. For some reason, the panic he thought he would feel did not come, and instead a strange peace was spreading through him. He was gone from Their realm, from Their torture.

It wasn't until he heard a very familiar voice did Loki Laufeyson finally open his eyes:

"Um, guys, we have a problem…"


	2. Chapter 2

**N/A: I want to thank everyone who has followed this story and left a review! I never thought that I would get 26 emails from OVERNIGHT about this! I'd like to send out a special shoutout to two of my best buddies, Seaspray and SilverScreen, for continually supporting me throughout my writing. :) I'd also like to thank ACW (You know who you are) for being awesome XD **

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"What kind of problem?"

When Steve Rogers had woken up that morning and made the executive decision to go out on a walk, he had no idea that he would stumble upon the bloodied body of the god he had fought about four years previously. He had been working for S.H.I.E.L.D. in that time, with the occasional visit from one of the Avengers. Steve stared down at Loki, confusion guarding the concern that had hit him first. When he had called S.H.I.E.L.D., the god's eyes had snapped open, wide and fearful. He saw Steve and instantly started to try to get away, as if he would harm him.

All Steve realized was that this was not something that S.H.I.E.L.D. needed to get involved with.

"False alarm," he said into his phone, hanging up quickly. In the span of five minutes that Steve had said his first sentence to Maria Hill, to his hesitation to respond, then his abrupt ending of the call, Loki had only moved about two feet away. Steve approached him slowly. "Loki…"

Loki stared up at Steve, his own blood slightly blurring the image of the super soldier, but he knew who it was. He knew that he would take Loki back to Thor, and Thor would take him back to Asgard, and it would be back in the prison cell he went. He could not let that happen. He would not go back to Asgard and he would not let Thor touch him ever again. He continued trying to squirm away from Steve, with little success.

"Who did this to you?" Steve asked, trying to sound softer than he normally did. Loki merely shook his head vigorously, tears starting to fall from his eyes once more. This had to be a vision sent to by Thanos. Soon Steve too would morph into Thanos and Central Park would dissolve into nothingness. Just like Tony and Thor and Bruce had. But none of them had asked who had harmed him; what had caused the god so much obvious pain and suffering. All of them had acted too innocent, too… uncharacteristic. Loki's head was spinning from his loss of blood and thinking. Exhaustion still could not be shaken from him and the sprig of Insanity grew a little bit more. For some reason, this seemed to amuse the god. He started to laugh weakly.

"Is this a trap?"

Steve hadn't expected that his harsh words would have such a positive effect on Loki. Loki's eyes widened and tears filled them once more, but this time they were not tears of sadness. They were tears of joy. Pure and utter joy. His laughing increased slightly and he managed to get out one, barely audible sentence before he fell into unconsciousness;

"You're real."

Steve stared down at Loki for a second. "You're real," he repeated. What was that supposed to mean? Of course Steve was real; he had been real for ages now! Nonetheless, this was no time for him to be pondering over Loki's words. Loki wouldn't be able to survive losing all this blood unless he did something now. Steve slowly lifted Loki into his arms and started to walk back to his apartment, ignoring the stares he received from passing civilians. His apartment wasn't too far from Central Park, which was very lucky for Loki. He moved as fast as he could and, once there, set Loki down on the couch. He got the first aid kit and as he started to clean Loki's wounds with water, he called someone he knew to be a doctor.

"Steve, hi," came the soft voice of Bruce Banner.

"Bruce, could you come over to my apartment for a minute? I need your help. Only your help," he added, after he heard a possibly drunk Tony Stark in the background. There seemed to be a slight reluctance on Bruce's end of the line, possibly to yell at Tony or tell Pepper that it was nice of them to let him stay.

"I'll be right over."

"Make it quick," Steve muttered before hanging up. Steve Rogers was no doctor. He wasn't very good at anything medical. Until Bruce arrived, he did nothing but clean the wounds and apply pressure to the ones that bled that most. When there came the soft _tap, tap, tap _from the door, signifying that Bruce had arrived, Loki stirred slightly. It wasn't much, but it was enough to tell Steve that there was a chance they could save him. Steve bolted to the door and opened it. "Bruce, before you freak out, let me explain…"

But there seemed to be no explanation needed for what Bruce saw. He instantly rushed to Loki's side and started to treat the wounds. Steve let out a sigh of relief. He hadn't been sure if letting Bruce come had been a good idea, out of fear that he might 'Hulk out'. In Bruce's mind, an injured person was an injured person and it didn't matter whether they were good or bad.

A small groan escaped Loki's lips, but he did not move or open his eyes. Bruce didn't miss a beat, disregarding the small noise made by the god. He didn't need Loki to tell him that he was in a whole world of pain. After the groan, there seemed to be more interaction coming from Loki. He started muttering nonsense words under his breath, his head rocking back and forth.

Steve watched with wide eyes, unsure of what to make of this. What had happened to Loki? Who would do this? And why did he say "You're real"?

Though he had made slight movements the previous day, Loki had not fully entered the conscious mind. The minute he opened his eyes, panic seized him at the darkness that surrounded him. Tears flowed down his cheeks and he grabbed the thing nearest to him-a pillow-and held it tightly against his chest, not sure of what would happen next. An hour passed and still nothing had happened. Loki's grip slowly released on the pillow and he sat up, only to instantly fall back again, letting out a yelp of pain. The wounds around his stomach area were too deep for him to get up; it hurt too much.

Suddenly a blinding light engulfed him and he shielded his eyes with his hands. He lowered them slowly, looking around the apartment curiously.

It was small and, frankly, a bit plain. The walls were a bit of a darker tan and the couch he was laying on was a dark brown. The kitchen, dining room, and living room were all combined into one room. The table was in front of the couch and in front of the couch was a smaller table with a little television. There were three different doors, two of which were closed. Steve Rogers stood in the open doorway, finger on the light switch. Behind him, Loki could make out a bedroom, a little bit smaller than the room he was in.

"You're awake," Steve commented. Loki squeaked a little and grabbed the pillow once more, pushing his face into it. He instantly flung it away from him, though, the darkness if it unsettling. He cowered on the couch, staring at Steve with wide, fearful eyes. "Hey, it's okay…" Steve started to approach Loki, but that only made tears fall down his cheeks again. "Loki, I'm not going to hurt you."

Loki shook his head quickly and threw a pillow at him. "NO! STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

Steve blinked and stopped moving, the pillow doing him no harm when it hit his abdomen. "Loki, I can't help you if you won't let me."

"You…. You are not r-real," Loki whispered. "L-Like all the r-rest…" He buried his face into his hands, sobs racking his body. Steve stood there, stunned, staring at Loki. "S-soon this wi-will a-all be g-g-gone… And you-you w-will be _h-him."_ Loki became overcome with sobs and stopped talking, unable to speak.

"Loki…" Steve didn't know what to say or do. "I am real. I've been real for… over seventy years. This apartment is real. The pillow you threw at me is real. Why do you think it's not?"

He just shook his head. If it really was Thanos, all of this would be over soon. The Insanity flowing within Loki would corrupt his mind before he could even torture him. This was the worst vision Thanos had sent yet; the idea of peace, the idea that someone cared. Loki waited for the bits of light that managed to seep through his fingers to be shut out, for Thanos's cruel laughter to fill his ears.

But none of that came. Maybe, maybe there was a chance for Loki. Maybe this could all be real.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: First, I feel like an idiot. XD I've been putting 'N/A' instead on 'A/N'. *facepalm* Oh well. **

**Let me just say that I am astonished at all the positive reviews and follows this story has been getting! I didn't know it was that good! Thank you all so much! I don't have a full drawn out plot for this yet, so the next few chapters will come with time. I promise I'll get a more detailed plot soon. For now, enjoy this chapter :3**

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Loki got no sleep that night. He stayed awake, staring at the dark ceiling, his heart racing. Sometimes the Insanity would have a sudden sprout, and he would thrash around on the small couch, trying to get away from the darkness. The wounds Bruce had so smoothly cleaned and bandaged began to bleed out again, the white bandages turning a deep crimson. The longest one of these lasted an hour. When he heard the supersoldier rising, he turned onto his side, trying to hide the fact that he was awake and hadn't gotten any sleep. He listened as Steve got some coffee, realizing that his plan had worked. He relaxed slightly and closed his eyes, trying to get at least a little sleep. He dozed off for about an hour and he woke up to the sound of Bruce Banner's voice.

"Did he sleep last night?"

Steve sighed. "I don't really know. He woke up in the middle of the night and threw a pillow at me. He wouldn't let me get near him and said something about everything not being real."

"Huh. That's weird…"

A silence fell and Loki could feel the two mens's eyes on him. He tensed up, his breathing quickening. What did they want from him? Hadn't he suffered enough? They whispered something that Loki couldn't hear and he heard one of them approach him.

"Loki? Are you awake?" Bruce asked softly. Loki curled up into a ball, answering the doctor's question. Bruce bit his lip. "Loki, can you roll onto your back for me? I need to check your wounds."

Loki shook his head, curling tighter in on himself. He let out a little whimper of pain as more blood leaked out of his wounds.

"Loki, please. I just want to help," Bruce said quietly. "Whatever did this to you had no right, even considering what you've done." Bruce's words stung Loki. He grabbed a pillow and threw it at Bruce's face, attempting to crawl over the couch, ending up falling behind the couch. "Loki!" Bruce raced to the other side of the couch and saw the god shaking in the corner. Bruce fell down to his knees and slowly crawled over to him. He stifled a gasp when he saw that his bandages had gone from white to a deep red within a matter of twelve hours. "What did you do…?" Bruce placed a hand on his shoulder, causing Loki to flinch away. Bruce ignored this and murmured, "Loki, you have to listen to me. If you don't let me help you, you'll die." Bruce was about to continue when Loki whispered something inaudible. "What?"

He swallowed and spoke up a little. "B-better d-dead than a-alive."

Bruce turned and looked at Steve with wide eyes, concern obviously coursing through him. Steve had the same look on his face as he crouched down and crawled over to Loki also. "What do you mean, Loki?" His voice was soft and quiet, trying to be comforting to the trembling god.

Loki just shook his head and curled up even tighter, whimpering softly. Steve sighed and stood up, Bruce slowly following suit. They exchanged a glance and knew that helping Loki would be harder than either of them expected.

A few hours later, Bruce and Steve had managed to move Loki back onto the couch and change his bandages. He stared at Bruce and Steve with wide eyes, unsure of what to make of them. Why were they helping him? He had caused them so much pain and chaos. He didn't deserve to be helped.

"There. Done," Bruce panted, after changing Loki's bandages for the second time that day. He stood up and went over to the table and sat down across from Steve. "What're you doing, Steve?"

Steve had his head hanging over an iPad that Tony had bought him a couple of years ago. "Learning. I still don't understand a lot of things in this world, and I want to make sure I know everything." Bruce chuckled softly than fell silent, casting a glance around the apartment. He stood up and looked around for any books he could read. He eventually found one and came back to the table, sat down, and began reading.

There was a knock at the door. Steve got up and glanced over at Loki. "Can you… hide?"

Loki's eyes narrowed but he put a simple invisibility spell over himself. It was weak and kept flickering. Steve sighed, figuring that that was as good as it would get. He went to the door and opened it.

"Stark, what are you doing there?" Steve gasped, his eyes widening slightly as he saw the billionaire. He hoped Loki's invisibility charm held; he wasn't sure how Tony would react to the god being in his apartment.

"Am I not invited here anymore?" Tony asked, smirking slightly as he stepped in. "Bruce, you're here too! Awesome." He looked around Steve's apartment. "You've got a nice place, Rogers." He walked over to the couch and was about to sit down when Steve realized that Loki was still there.

"Don't sit there!" he and Bruce exclaimed at the same time. Tony raised his eyebrows at the two.

"Why? It's just a couch."

"Bruce split some soda on it earlier," Steve said quickly. "It's still sticky."

Tony blinked, shrugged, then went over to the table and sat down in one of the chairs. He put his heels up on the table, stretching out a bit. "What've you two cats been up to?"

As the three Avengers talked, Loki held his breath, praying desperately that his invisibility spell would hold. His magic wasn't as strong as it normally was and he wasn't sure if he could exactly trust Tony Stark. He knew he would be able to trust Bruce and Steve; they could keep a secret. Tony? Not so much.

Two long hours of Loki straining to hold his spell passed, and Loki was sure that if Tony didn't leave soon, he'd be exposed. He watched as the three men talked and tried to get Bruce and Steve's attention without success. They seemed to have forgotten that Loki was there. Why did he even try? No one really cared for him. There was no one who had ever truly cared for Loki. So why did he feel safe here? Thanos would get him again eventually; why keep up this strain of keeping his magic up?

Loki had come to a conclusion and slowly closed his eyes, exhaustion sweeping over him. His spell was lifted and a weight he hadn't known was on his shoulders went with it. His breathing slowed and he fell asleep easily.

Tony, whose back was turned to the couch, had no idea that the god of mischief was sleeping on the couch behind him. He did get an idea that something was wrong, however, when Bruce's happy expression changed to panic and Steve's face paled. "Hey, guys, it was just a joke…"

Steve shook his head and smiled again, trying to ignore Loki. "Yeah, sorry. Just-just got caught up in some thoughts."

"Bruce must've too. Do you guys have telepathy powers?" There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He smirked a little. "What's going on with you two?"

"Nothing, we just-"

"-bad night's sleep…"

"…and trouble at work…"

"Alright, enough!" Tony exclaimed. "I get it." He checked his watch, eyebrows furrowing slightly. "Aw, I gotta go. Pepper's going to kill me if I'm late for this meeting…" He stood up. "Bruce, I'll see you tomorrow for science stuff. Rogers… Uh, keep up the good work." Steve and Bruce nodded weakly and Tony turned around. His eyes landed on the sleeping god and he took a step back, incredulous. Steve sighed, while Bruce groaned and rubbed his temples. Steve swore he knew exactly what Tony was going to say before he actually whipped around again and exclaimed,

"What the hell is Loki doing here?!"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I am so, so sorry for the lack of update over the past… two weeks, is it? School has me busy and stuff XD And I'm lazy. But hey! New chapter! Woo! :D I hope you enjoy it, m'dears ~**

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Bruce and Steve exchanged a glance then looked back at the confused and, frankly, angry billionaire. They knew Tony would eventually find out their secret, but they hadn't exactly worked out how to break it to him. Steve, personally, thought this was better than just telling Tony that they'd lied to him and have him be even angrier than he was now. Bruce, on the other hand, was perfectly content with not telling his 'science bro' anything, as he didn't like seeing Tony angry.

"Well?" Tony hissed, glaring at the two men. Steve stood up confidently.

"Loki isn't a threat, Tony. He's been hurt badly and Bruce and I are helping him."

Tony's jaw dropped and he exclaimed breathlessly, "What the… what the hell is wrong with you?!" He understood why they hadn't told him, but he was slightly hurt that they thought he couldn't be trusted with this information. Bruce stood up slowly.

"There's nothing wrong with helping someone in need, Tony," he said softly. "We wanted to tell you, but we knew you'd take it like this, so we didn't. Look at him, Tony. Do you see how broken he looks?"

Tony turned around the look at the god once more, his chocolate eyes narrowed. Loki had positioned himself on the couch so that his wounds wouldn't be disturbed as he slept. His inky black hair was knotted and hung limply around his face. Most of his armor was scattered on the ground next to the sofa, and was all broken. Loki was using his cape as a blanket, despite the fact that it was torn and burned in multiple places. Loki had bandages on almost every part of his body. His eyebrows furrowed as he slept and he curled in tighter on himself, as though he was a curious child in the beginning of a nightmare. Tony's fists slowly unclenched and he turned back to Bruce and Steve. "Why is he like that?"

"We don't know," Steve said. "He won't tell us anything about who did that to him. But he keeps thinking that we're not real. He's not fond of the dark, either."

"Not to mention his wounds are-" Bruce was cut off by a scream coming from Loki, who was still asleep, thrashing around.

"STAY AWAY!" Were the only words all three men could make out through Loki's yells, his face showing nothing but pure horror. Steve and Bruce raced over to the god.

"Try and wake him up," Bruce said. "We have to get him to stop thrashing, or he'll open his wounds again." Steve nodded and yelled Loki's name, a feeble attempt to wake the god.

Loki finally snapped open his eyes, tears streaming down his face. He looked around and, when he saw Tony, preformed the previous act of desperately climbing over the couch, landing heavily on the other side, and curling up in the corner, sobbing. He put his head in his hands, humitated at how scared he was.

"Not again…" Steve slowly went behind the couch and crouched beside Loki. "Hey, hey, it's okay, Loki… We're not going to hurt you. You know that." Loki shook his head and curled in tighter on himself. He tried to push Steve away, with little success. Bruce walked over and put a hand on Steve's shoulder.

"Let me." Steve nodded and moved away, Bruce taking the position Loki was in. "I know you're scared, Loki. There's no shame in admitting that you're afraid. You don't have to tell me why you're scared, but you need to let me look at your wounds, okay? We can't have you bleed to death all over Steve's carpet."

Loki shook his head. "D-Death is-is-is b-b-better."

Bruce's eyes widened a little. "No, it's not. Loki, please, please, let me help you."

Loki finally looked at Bruce, tear streaks running down his face. He slowly nodded and crawled out from his corner, lying down on the ground for Bruce to heal him. Bruce smiled a little. "Good." He opened the bandages again, fixing what needed to be fixed. As he did so, Loki became dizzy from the loss of blood and passed out.

Tony had watched the whole ordeal silently, wondering what had caused the confident, clever god he had met four years ago into a cowering mess. His eyes were wide and shock was painted clearly on his face. Steve glanced over at him.

"This is normal. He did that when he woke up and saw Bruce leaning over him to heal him. I found him when I was on a walk through the park," Steve explained to the flabbergasted billionaire.

"Normal…" Tony repeated quietly. "That…" Steve nodded solemnly and they both fell silent, watching Bruce as he healed Loki. Tony wasn't sure what to make of everything that was happening. How could Loki be scared of him? He had thrown Tony out his own window! As Tony watched, a horrible feeling washed over him. There was something very wrong about all of this.

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**A/N: Yay :3 **

**I know it's short, but hey, I felt like we needed an update. I just whipped this together really quickly. I'll make the next chapter longer, promise ~**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I am so sorry for not updating! I've had a homework overload and never found time to type. Again, it's not as long as I'd like it, but it's better than nothing.**

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"What do we do now?"

Tony's question was met with silence, Bruce wrapped up in treating Loki and Steve in his own thoughts. He sighed; he didn't like the atmosphere in Steve's apartment. He went into the kitchen, looking for some form of alcohol. He searched and searched, but never found any. A small frown crossed his lips. What single man didn't have some form of alcohol in his house? Obviously, a hundred year old single man didn't. Sighing, he went back out to the other two men, saying, "I can't believe you have no beer here, Rogers." Steve looked over at him and glared.

"Why would I, Stark?"

Tony shrugged a little and sat down at the table. He watched as Bruce dragged Loki back to the couch and hoisted him up, laying him down. "Where the hell is Thor?"

Steve shrugged. "We have no idea. Just found Loki… I just wonder what happened to him. It seems unlike him to do something like this. I mean… He was so tough and clever four years ago. I just want to know what happened to change that."

Bruce nodded and sighed. "I agree. Loki has had unjust punishment."

"He did kind of destroy the city…" Tony muttered. Bruce and Steve looked over at him and glared. Tony bit his lip. "I mean, hey! Loki, yeah, let's… let's help him." Bruce and Steve looked back at Loki, who was stirring slightly.

"How do we get him to talk?" Bruce asked quietly. "The only thing he ever seems to say is, 'No', 'Go away', and 'You're not real'." Steve nodded, looking down a little, racking his brain for any possible way. Maybe… maybe it was because… No… It couldn't be. He looked up at the others and voiced his thoughts,

"Maybe he won't talk to us because we defeated him."

"No, why would he?" Tony asked, eyebrows rising. "We were just trying to protect the Earth, right? That's our job. It's his fault he got in the way of our job."

Bruce nodded. "I agree with Tony on this one; Loki should've known that there would be someone that wouldn't let him subjugate the world. Especially when he grew up with Thor."

"What if he was forced to?" Steve countered. Tony snorted, shaking his head. He couldn't believe that Steve was actually standing up for Loki.

"Believe whatever you want, Rogers. I have to go." Tony stood up. "See you later, Bruce, Rogers." Tony walked out of the apartment and began to walk back to the Stark Tower, which he and Pepper had made as their home for the time being. For once, he ignored the stares and attention he was getting, his mind focused on what had just happened. He couldn't believe that Steve had just stumbled on Loki in the park. It almost seemed like it was too perfectly set to not be planned. Or maybe this was just a joke. The latter seemed to be unlikely; the fear had been too real for even such a great trickster like Loki to fake. Tony looked up at the bright blue sky, squinting slightly against the sun. With a small sigh, he looked at his home-one of the tallest buildings in the city. A slight breeze blew through his hair and, when he looked at the sky, he saw dark clouds coming close. Grimly thinking of a coming rain, Tony went into the tower and took the elevator up to the penthouse. He smirked slightly as he saw Pepper sitting on the couch, typing away madly. "Hey, Pep."

Pepper jumped a little and looked over at her boyfriend. "Tony! You're back. How're Bruce and Steve?" She scotched over a bit on the couch so that he could sit next to her. He did so and wrapped one arm around her waist.

"Eh. Same old. Watcha working on?" Tony craned his neck a bit to look at what Pepper was working on. He groaned slightly when he saw the words 'debt', 'Stark Industries', and '…upon the completion of Stark Tower'. "Never mind, I don't want to know. How do you do it?"

"How do I do what?" She smiled a little and looked at him curiously.

"That." He pointed to the laptop and Pepper laughed a little, kissing his cheek. Tony cracked a half grin.

"I just… do." Pepper shrugged a little, resting her head on his shoulder. They sat there for awhile longer, content with the short silence between them. Pepper glanced out the quickly darkening sky, than sighed a bit. "Guess our walk is getting cut short."

"It would've got cut short either way." Tony shrugged a bit. "Press and such."

Pepper nodded, than jumped slightly, as there was a loud rumble of thunder. Tony chuckled softly, pulling her closer. "Don't worry; it was just a bit of thunder." She nodded and relaxed, leaning into him. Tony closed his eyes and sighed a little, smiling slightly. All thoughts of Loki escaped his mind and he finally felt relax.

That is, until there was a particularly loud clap of thunder and a loud pounding on the roof. Tony's eyes shot open and looked over at Pepper, whose eyes were wide with confusion and slight fear. Tony told her to wait there and grabbed his jacket, walking up to the roof, slightly dreading what he would see. When he got up there, a sight that scared even the great Anthony Stark met his eyes, because no one likes it when an enraged god of thunder is standing on your roof.

* * *

**A/N: As many people requested: Thor! I had always planned on bringing him in, and reading the reviews of people telling me to bring him in was great fun. I hope you faces liked this chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I know, I'm horrible. I keep meaning to update this but never seem to get 'round to it.**

**And I am sorry if some of you are disappointed in how I dealt with the Thor situation, because I did have an idea to start out this chapter, but then remembered I had to deal with Thor, and I was not happy with myself. So I didn't deal with Thor in the normal way I would, and I hope I don't do something rushed like this again XD**

**I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Mjolnir was gripped in the mighty thunderer's hands, his blue eyes narrowed to silts. "Man of Iron!" He stood up straight, red cape flapping around wildly in the howling wind. "Where is my brother?!"

Tony looked at Thor, a slight fear creeping into his eyes. He pulled his jacket around himself tighter, wondering what the thunderer planned on doing. He wondered if Thor knew what state Loki was in and how he knew that Loki was on Earth. "Uh, not here, obviously."

Thor was not fond of the billionaire's words, and raised his hammer higher into the air. "Tell me now!"

Tony held his hands up. "I told you, he's not here. Do Asgardians have ears?"

Thor threw his hammer down and stormed over to Tony, gripping the front of his shirt and lifting him into the air. "You bring lies! I will find my brother on my own!" He dropped Tony, whom stumbled a bit, but didn't fall to the ground. Thor summoned his hammer, which came obediently to him. Tony shook his head.

"Fine, fine. You got me. I do know where Loki is. He's somewhere in Europe, in hiding. You should check there."

For the first time since he arrived, Thor smiled. "Thank you, Stark. You are a good friend." He swung his hammer around. "I shall visit once I have dealt with my brother!" Thor was lifted into the air and, blond hair whipping around, began to fly towards the other country. Tony let out a sigh of relief. That should keep Thor occupied for now, at least. He went back down to Pepper, not telling her of what had happened. He called Steve and managed to leave a message about what was happening, a feeling of dread pricking through him. Thor knew Loki was on Earth and wanted him back… So what would happen to Loki if Thor did get him?

* * *

"Wake up, Laette! It's Saturday!"

With a small groan, the girl turned over in her bed, pulling the blankets around her tighter. "No…" She was about eighteen, with short, cropped brown hair. Thick glasses rested on her nightstand next to the bed, placed where she could reach them easily. Her room was a bit small; the only furniture being the closet, desk, bed, and nightstand. The walls were a light green and sunlight streamed through the open window, making the green seem even lighter. Her mother was standing over her, looking slightly amused as she attempted to wake her daughter.

"We're going out to get coffee."

Laette's hazel eyes snapped open and she grabbed her glasses. "Give me five minutes."

Her mother laughed a little, than nodded. "Of course." Karina Keene then stepped out of the room and waited for her daughter to get changed.

Laette rolled out of bed, pushing her glasses onto her nose. She went over to the closet and pulled out jeans, a blue blouse, and a white hoodie, then pulled all of them on. She grabbed her black boots and slipped into them, humming softly to herself. She ran a brush through her hair quickly then skipped out to her mother. "Ready."

Karina smiled happily. "Let's go, then."

The mother and daughter left their New York suburbs home and walked to a local Starbucks, chatting animatedly. Laette, as they sat at the table and drank their steaming coffees, pulled out a circuit and began to fiddle with it, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. Karina frowned slightly at her daughter.

"Laette, we're in a restaurant."

"It's a coffee shop, Mom. And how else am I supposed to get this experiment done?"

Karina sighed, exasperated, but a small smile rested on her lips. She looked around the shop and saw a slightly familiar figure. She elbowed Laette a bit and murmured, "Found him."

"What are you talking about?"

"Tony Stark. He's here, Lae!"

Laette looked up and, to her excitement, there stood the one and only Anthony Stark. He looked stressed and tired, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited to get to the front of the line. Pepper hadn't gotten any more coffee and he needed some, as she and Bruce had both banned him from alcohol. Finally, he ordered his drink and received it, taking a very long sip.

"You should go talk to him," Karina chimed. "He is your idol, after all."

Lae shrugged a little, her cheeks heating up. She mumbled something inaudible and looked down at the circuit.

Karina rolled her eyes. "Come on, Laette."

Lae smiled. "Fine. I need help with this junk anyways." She gestured to the circuit and then stood up, hesitantly walking over to Tony. "Um, Mr. Stark?"

Tony looked over and blinked. "Uh, lemme guess, you want a photo and autograph?"

Laette shook her head. "No. I was wondering if you could help me with figuring out this circuit." She blushed slightly as she handed Tony the device, watching him as he examined it. He changed the wiring a bit then handed it back to her, sighing slightly.

"There. What was your name?" Tony questioned, lowering his sunglasses slightly to get a good look at her. Laette blinked and shuffled her foot on the ground, hesitantly stuffing the circuit back into the hoodie's pocket.

"Laette Keene, but friends call me Lae," she mumbled quietly. Tony held out his hand to shake and she grasped it, shaking it briefly. "I should be going…" Laette shuffled back to Karina and sat down, not looking back at Tony, her face still a slight red.

Tony sighed as he took another sip of his drink. He knew he didn't have long before Thor came and unleashed his rage upon him, so he may as well get ready. He left the shop with a feeling of dread in his stomach.

* * *

**A/N: A big thanks to my buddy, SilverScreen, for letting me use Laette and Karina Keene, and later, Mark Keene! I will have fun with these characters :3**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know. I haven't been on/writing. Bad writer. I'm just so busy… Now that its summer break, I should be able to find more time…**

**So I saw Iron Man 3; it was BEYOND awesome! Since my fic is really far from what Tony has done in the movie, I've decided that IM3 will NOT have any effect on this story. The Mandarin/A.I.M. stuff might come up eventually (especially because I'm making this somewhat more free throughout the Marvel universe), but it won't be the same as IM3. **

**So here's the story again. Hope you enjoy. DFTBA.**

* * *

It was a typical morning at S.H.I.E.L.D.; the helicarrier flew across the wide expanse of blue ocean water and the various agents bustled about, doing their normal routines. Director Nick Fury stood, watching it all with his one brown eye, silently approving. News of the Thor sightings had reached him quickly, though he really didn't do much about it. There was really no point in confronting the god, and if there was trouble… that's when he would intervene.

"Director, we have a visitor," Agent Hill stated simply as she strode towards her boss, stopping a few feet away from him. He nodded in acknowledgement, and Hill took a step back.

The new-comer's eyes were a bright, shining blue, curiously gazing at the technology around him. He was about as tall as Fury, but his muscles were much more visible. The man was clothed in new jeans, which were not too long, nor too short. His white tee-shirt was clean and looked nice with his black business suit. His brown hair was gelled back and neatly styled, making him look very educated, despite his young age.

"Sir, I'm Robert Edstein. I was wondering if I could apply for a job here," he stated, cracking a smile at Nick Fury. Fury examined the man with his eye for a moment.

"Agent Hill, take him through interrogation, than see how well his skills are. Report back to me when you're done."

* * *

Days went by, and not much had happened at Steve's apartment. Loki would flinch every time someone made a move to approach him and he slept with the lights on at night. Bruce would occasionally come down and visit, to check on how Loki was healing.

"Good…" Bruce muttered quietly, half to himself. He stepped away from Loki and looked at him through his square glasses. "You're healing."

Loki nodded once, his eyes not meeting Bruce's. His knuckles were white from gripping the edge of the sofa and his lips were pressed together tightly in a thin line, Bruce sighed softly and walked back over to Steve, quietly explaining what Loki's condition was.

As the two men talked in hushed voices, Loki's grip released slightly, but not completely. He watched both Bruce and Steve with a piercing green gaze, which was filled with fear. A pang of hunger stabbed at the god of mischief's stomach and he tried to ignore it. He rarely spoke and refused to eat any food that Steve gave him, no matter how good it looked or smelt. He would weakly crawl into the kitchen in the night or when Steve was gone and get small portions of food. He didn't want Steve to know that he was "stealing" in the middle of the night, for fear that he might move the food supply.

To be honest, most of Steve's days were boring. He had to spend most of it with Loki, who would sit in a corner, rocking back and forth or would be sleeping. Steve didn't see Loki get up often; he only saw it when Loki would fall down and have to pick himself back up. For a long time now, Steve had wondered what he could do to help the trickster recover, but nothing really came to mind. Obviously, none of the Avengers hanging around would make Loki feel better, and S.H.I.E.L.D. would take him prisoner at once.

The captain glanced back at Loki and, noticing the fear, murmured, "Loki? Are you okay?"

At being directly addressed, Loki shrank back, his grip tightening once more on the sofa. He didn't say anything and stared at the two men, heart thumping wildly in his chest. The fear he felt… He hated it. Why did he have to be afraid? It was just another thing to add onto the long list of reasons why he hated himself. Why he had sunk so low into this insanity. He looked away from the two Avengers, closing his eyes tightly.

An image of a bulky, purple faced menace caused Loki's eyes to snap back open, shaking with fear. The evil smirk that had lined the titan's face had spread across his entire face, bright blue eyes shining maliciously. Why did he want Loki? What was his purpose to the evil man?

* * *

Tony Stark was drinking.

This wasn't the first time, however.

Pepper had left for a conference the day before, leaving Tony all by himself in the newly built Stark Tower. And what was a billionaire awaiting his inevitable doom from an angered god of thunder? Drink. So Tony drank, laying on the couch, bored out of his mind. He wondered what to do… What to build…

His thoughts slipped to Loki and a shudder shook his body. Why was he helping the god? What was the point? Loki had tortured them all, by means of mind tricks. Tony had nearly died because of Loki and now that Loki was the weakened one, he expected Tony to be kind and just help without a second thought?

_Damn, _Tony's clouded mind thought. He slowly hoisted himself up from the couch, wobbling slightly as he walked over to his cell phone. His beer bottle was still clutched in one hand and he was close to dropping it. He dialed the number with stumbling fingers, then held the communication device to his ear. As he waited for someone to pick up, he plopped back down on the couch, taking another swig of the drink.

"Stark, what do you want?" said an irritated Nick Fury.

Tony giggled slightly at the demand in his voice and replied groggily, "I have a present for you."


	8. Chapter 8

"And what would this present be?" Nick Fury questioned, slightly exasperated by Stark's reason for calling. The man was obviously drunk and the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. did not want to deal with his arrogance at the moment.

"It's – _hic _– a god we haven't seen in – _hic _– awhile." Tony was sprawled out across his couch, enjoying this thoroughly. He took another swig of the alcohol in the bottle he held, relishing in the satisfactory taste it brought.

"What the hell are you talking about?" There was an edge to Fury's words.

"Loki – _hic _– is with Rogers."

* * *

Thor had not found Loki. Two days had past of him searching throughout Europe and the land and sea surrounding. He had, eventually, gotten it into his head that perhaps Stark had been lying to him. But… Why? Thor began to fly back towards New York City, unsure of whether he should be angry or confused. Perhaps Loki had been in Europe when Stark had said that, then had left? Thor shook his head; there was no point in wondering. He would soon find out.

As Stark Tower grew closer, Thor flew faster towards it. With a swing of his hammer, Thor made his own door for entrance into the tower. Tony Stark dropped his phone as Thor smashed in and he began to giggle madly. Thor approached Stark and, as he walked, dropped his hammer.

"I did not find my brother," Thor informed him, a bit of anger seeping into the authority in his voice. Tony waved him off, still giggling.

"Tha-that's because… I lied." Tony was getting close to passing out, but Thor didn't seem to notice. A rage filled Thor that he had been lied to by someone he thought was his friend.

"What are you saying?"

"He's really with-with… with…" Tony, still grinning, completely passed out in mid-sentence. Thor gripped Tony Stark by the front of his shirt and shook him angrily.

"Stark! Where is he?!" Thor growled at the drunken man. However, he got no response. Upset, Thor dropped the billionaire and called for Mjolnir. Swinging it around in his hand, Thor created yet another hole in the tower, going off to search for Loki himself.

* * *

Steve and Loki were alone in the apartment. To them, everything was normal so far. Loki hadn't spoken at all, Steve was reading the newspaper, and checking in on Loki every half hour. Loki didn't move often during the day, but he seemed to be improving from when Steve had first found him.

When Steve stood up to go check on Loki, he wasn't expecting to see the god standing away from the couch where he had resided for days. Loki was looking at Steve's bookshelf, examining all of his books. With one eyebrow raised, Steve commented, "You like books."

Loki jumped and whipped around, fear entering his eyes. "Y-Yes."

Steve smiled. "Yeah, me too."

The smallest of smiles crossed Loki's lips and, for a moment, he felt safe for the first time. Of course, that was when the door was broken down by various S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. They pinned Loki and Steve to the walls and handcuffed each of them. Nick Fury strode into the room and said, "You are under arrest for housing the supervillain known as Loki."

* * *

**A/N: Yes, I know, I know, I am a horrible person for not updating more often. I am a horrific procrastinator… **

**Hope you all liked this chapter! Even though it was really short... DX**


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